


A Request

by afteriwake



Series: Inspired By Love And Guided By Knowledge [3]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bad Parenting, Dorms, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Irene Wants Her Parents Out Of Her Life, Neighbors, Oxford, University Student Irene, University Student Molly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2017-10-11
Packaged: 2019-01-16 00:21:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12331776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: Molly had the feeling Irene's parents didn't approve of her lifestyle long before her first day as a student at Oxford, so when Irene asks for their relationship to be a bit more settled than it was to basically say "eff off" to her parents, she agrees





	A Request

**Author's Note:**

  * For [onceinabluemoon13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/onceinabluemoon13/gifts).



> This was an answer to a request from **onceinabluemoon13** (“[7 ii - My homophobic parents are coming to visit will you pretend to date me as an extra 'fuck you?'](http://penaltywaltz.tumblr.com/post/166090560173/nerds-are-cool-if-youre-struggling-for-au)”) that I thought would fit best in this AU. It's not my favorite fic I've written, but I hope it's enjoyed anyway. And yes, this will reverberate in the series.

It was an excruciating wait for the beginning of her first term at Oxford. She’d kept in touch with Irene throughout the wait, even arranging a few visits between each other before the summer break. And it was then that she could see why Irene had said what she’d said; Irene’s family had not been happy about the visits and had limited their contact to phone calls and letters.

Her own family had figured things out quite easily the first time they met Irene. She was far more fortunate in that her mother quite adored Irene and her brother found her to be an intellectual equal and they had good conversations. When Irene had gone home to Hampshire after her last visit her mum had asked if Irene was the one who had put the wide smile on her face after she returned from the campus visit and it would be a shame if they didn’t work out. She hugged her mum tight then.

The closer it got to her starting at Oxford, the more nervous she got. Would Irene still want her? Would it still be the way it was the times they’d seen each other? But all her worries were dashed when she saw her housing assignment was in a familiar dormitory next to a familiar room, and she seemed to be by herself as well.

Well...aside from Irene waiting on the unmade bed.

“My favorite Medical student,” Irene said with a wide smile, getting off the bed and coming up to Molly, kissing her enthusiastically. Molly simply dropped the things in her hands as she kissed her back, having missed this quite a bit. Irene held onto her as they kissed, and then she pulled away from the kiss but stayed close. “You need to be my girlfriend.”

“What?” Molly asked, blinking.

“Well, I mean, I _want_ you to be, eventually. But you need to pretend to be my girlfriend _now_. My parents are coming to Oxford tomorrow to make sure I’m ‘settled in properly’ and all, and I want them to understand I don’t need them here.”

“And your parents wouldn’t approve?” Molly asked.

“No,” she said. “But they can’t pull me out of uni and my grandmum thought you sounded adorable so she said she’ll support me while I’m in uni as long as we agree to have dinner with her at least once.”

Molly gave it some consideration. Irene _did_ say she’d thought her parents had read some of the letters Molly had sent in one of the phone calls she’d made while her parents were out of the house, so Molly had been quite careful what she’d written after that. Any parent that would invade their child’s privacy or be so adamant against the people they dated because they were of the same sex...if Irene really wanted them out of her life, she could pretend. Not that it wasn’t what she actually wanted, but if it was to be _pretend_ now and _real_ later, that wouldn’t be so bad.

“I suppose it couldn’t hurt,” Molly said.

Irene threaded her fingers in between Molly’s, squeezing her hand. “I wanted it all to be different, you know. I wanted to give you time to get used to the idea of dating me if that was what you really wanted. My parents, though...they’ll never accept me as I am, and the sooner they realize I won’t change, the better.” 

“Well, my mum and brother adore you, if that helps?” Molly asked.

Irene smiled widely and then sat on the bed again, pulling Molly next to her. “It does. And as I said, my grandmum thinks you’re as cute as a button. She guessed right off when I came back here last week.”

Molly’s eyes widened. “She lives in Oxford?”

Irene nodded. “She’s a professor at one of the other universities here. I generally tend to have supper with her once a week. In fact...I _suppose_ you could come with me tonight. As an actual date?”

“I don’t think I can turn down good food and good company,” Molly said with a smile. “And practice does make perfect, after all.”

“Yes, it does,” Irene said with a nod. “I suppose we can practice the kissing a bit now, before dinner. I mean, if you’d like to.”

“I would,” Molly said, leaning in towards Irene and kissing her softly. She could feel Irene smile against her lips as she kissed her back, and it didn’t seem so awkward, this idea of already being girlfriends. She just hoped it didn’t backfire terribly...


End file.
